Past Exhibitions
All About Shoes: Footwear Through the Ages – Permanent Exhibition
Temporary Exhibitions:
In Bloom: Flowers and Footwear (April 2023 – September 2024)
Obsessed: How Shoes Became Objects of Desire (October 2022 – March 2024)
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks (May 2022 – April 2023)
The Great Divide: Footwear in The Age of Enlightenment (August 2020 – March 2023)
All Dolled Up: Fashioning Cultural Expectations (October 2021 – October 2022)
Art & Innovation: Traditional Arctic Footwear from the BSM Collection (February 2010 to April 2022)
The Gold Standard: Glittering Footwear From Around the Globe (December 2017 – September 2021)
WANT: Desire, Design and Depression Era Footwear (January 2019 – April 2020)
Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes (May 2018 – January 2019)
Standing Tall: The Curious History of Men in Heels (May 2015 – November 2017)
Fashion Victims: The Pleasures and Perils of 19th Century Dress (June 2014 – April 2018)
Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture (April 2013 to June 2014)
Collected in the Field: Shoemaking Traditions from Around the World (January 2013 – April 2015)
Roger Vivier: Process to Perfection (May 2012 – April 2013)
The Roaring 20’s: Hemlines, Heels and High Hopes (April 2011 – January 2012)
Art in Shoes/Shoes in Art (October 2010 – May 2012)
Socks: Between You and Your Shoes (March 2010 – April 2011)
On a Pedestal: From Renaissance Chopines to Baroque Heels (November 2009 – September 2010)
On Pointe: The Rise of the Ballet Shoe (April 2008 – February 2009)
Beauty, Identity, Pride: Native North American Footwear (November 2007 – January 2016)
Chronicles of Riches: Treasures from the Bata Shoe Museum Collection(January 2007 – October 2009)
The Charm of Rococo: Femininity and Footwear in the 18th century(June 2006 – April 2008)
Watched by Heaven, Tied to Earth: Summoning Animal Protection for Chinese Children(March 2006 – October 2007)
Icons of Elegance: Influential Shoe Designers of the 20th century(September 2005 – January 2007)
Paths Across the Plains: Native Footwear of the Great Plains(2004–2005)
The Perfect Pair: Wedding Shoe Stories(2002–2004)
Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Foot(2001)
Every Step a Lotus: Shoes in the Lives of Chinese Women from Late Imperial China(2001)
Design A Foot: Athletic Shoes 1995-2000(December 2000 – September 2001)
Paduka: Feet and Footwear in the Indian Tradition(July 1999 – June 2000)
Herbert and Beth Levine: An American Pair(June 1999 – December 1999)
Japanese Footgear: Walking the Path of Innovation(February 1999 – January 2000)
Footsteps on the Sacred Earth: Native Peoples of the Southwest(July 1998 – June 1999)
Little Feats: A Celebration of Children’s Shoes(October 1998 – May 1999)
Spirit of Siberia(June 1997 – June 1998); Dance! Minuet to Disco (March 1997 – February 1999)
The Taming of the Shoe: From Attic to Exhibition(November 1997 – October 1998)
Footwear Fantasia: Shoe Sculptures by Garry Greenwood (April – November 1997)
Loose Tongues and Lost Soles: Shoes in Cartoon and Caricature(spring – fall 1997)
Dance: Social Dance from 1750 – 1980(March 1997 – February 1999)
Rock n’ Sole: Basketball Shoes(February 1997 – November 1997)
Tradition and Innovation: Northern Athapaskan Footwear(June 1996 –June 1997)
Shoe Dreams: Designs by Andrea Pfister(May 1996 – January 1997)
The Gentle Step: 19th Century Women’s Shoes(May 1995 – February 1997)
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: Illustrations from Contemporary Children’s Books about Shoes(May 1995 – April 1996)
Inuit Boots: A Woman’s Art(May 1995 – May 1996)